Fisker has owners in a state of limbo

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Joel Lipman, a retired doctor, bought a 2012 Fisker Karma ES for $110,000 and is wondering whether his car has a future as Fisker Automotive faces an uncertain future.

Joel Lipman, a retired doctor, bought a 2012 Fisker Karma ES for $110,000 and is wondering whether his car has a future as Fisker Automotive faces an uncertain future.

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Fisker, funded with $1.2 billion in private investment and $193 million from a federal loan, has reportedly prepared for the possibility of a bankruptcy filing even as it seeks more cash from partners, investors or new owners.

The Fisker Automotive headquarters building in Anaheim. The company's 220 workers - just a third of the number employed a year ago - returned to their jobs Monday, following a week long furlough intended to save money, according to spokesman Roger Ormisher.

It only took one test drive of the $100,000 Fisker Karma to convince Ed Orlowski and his wife, Jaklin, that they had to own one of the hybrid gas-electric cars. But the Rancho Santa Margarita couple still waited weeks before taking delivery, as more than 200 of the first Karmas to roll off the Finland assembly line had been recalled for a defective hose clamp.

Now the Orlowskis and other Fisker owners are anxiously awaiting the fate of the Anaheim-based carmaker, and the implications that might have for their luxury vehicles.

Fisker, funded with $1.2 billion in private investment and $193 million from a federal loan, has reportedly prepared for the possibility of a bankruptcy filing even as it seeks more cash from partners, investors or new owners. The company’s 220 workers – just a third of the number employed a year ago – returned to their jobs Monday, following a weeklong furlough intended to save money, according to spokesman Roger Ormisher.

The Karma made its name with eco-conscious celebrity buyers such as Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio. But Joel Lipman might be more typical of the car’s 1,500-plus owners. Lipman, a retired physician from Newport Coast, put down a $5,000 deposit on Karma No. 62 in early 2009. Then he waited more than three years to get it.

Lipman saw the purchase as a chance to make a statement.

“I did it to support what I thought was a great car, an industry that I want to see grow and an environment I want to see saved,” he said. “And I wanted to put my money where my mouth is.”

Lipman has become hooked on the convenience of electric driving. On a recent vacation, he grew aggravated at the number of times his rented SUV dragged him into gas stations. Lipman’s Karma only needs gas every six or seven weeks. (The Karma uses a range-extending gasoline generator to charge its battery.)

But Lipman also knew he was buying into an experiment and that the company might run into trouble. On Monday, Lipman called the Irvine dealership, Fisker of Orange County, to check on his options. He says he was told some of the car’s parts come from General Motors, and that may increase the odds of getting replacements if Fisker goes under.

Called for comment by the Register, the Irvine dealership deferred to Fisker Automotive. Ormisher, the Fisker spokesman, said that as of Monday service and parts ordering were operating normally. Whether that will continue to be the case is “difficult to say,” he said, until the final plan is clear.

The Orlowskis finally took delivery of their Karma the day before Christmas 2011. They still adore the car – they’ve put 13,000 miles on it – and the looks it draws.

“I’ve had a very good experience with the car,” said Ed Orlowski, a clinical manager of radiation oncology at UC Irvine Medical Center. The public “gets the bad news” – recalls, car fires, supplier bankruptcy and even a flood on the East Coast that wiped out more than 300 of the cars. “I just wish they would get the good news, too.”

Still, he also wonders where he will get service and repairs in the event of bankruptcy. “I’m definitely concerned,” he said.

In Palo Alto, meanwhile, another electric-car maker said late Sunday that it is on the path toward its first quarter of profitability. Tesla Motors said it had sold 4,750 of its $62,000-plus Model S, 250 more than it had previously forecast. Tesla lost $90 million on automotive sales of $294 million (and $12 million in development services) in the fourth quarter of 2012.

If that cleared up some questions about Tesla, they’re only mounting for Fisker owners.

“I think it would be a potential collector’s item,” said Lipman. “But I’m not a collector, so that doesn’t mean much to me.”